SEKEM is very happy to celebrate its 43rd anniversary with a beautiful ceremony after the cancellation of the spring festival due to COVID-19 restrictions. For the safety of the community, the festival was held twice over the course of two weeks in order to welcome all the guests while ensuring social distancing.
Like every year, SEKEM also set a focus on two main vision goals for 2057 and launched initiatives and projects to achieve those goals. For the first half of this year, the SEKEM vision goal in focus was ‘Integrative Health’, which happened to coincide with the surrounding events. And now, for the second half of 2020, SEKEM is introducing SVG 14 (SEKEM Vision Goal No. 14) ‘Ethical Banking’. For months, this topic has been discussed during the Sunday meetings with Helmy Abouleish, SEKEM’s CEO, to develop the community members’ understanding and to come up with initiatives from within. This theme was also highlighted and presented through a play during the celebration.
Elsala Alzein – All that is good
The SEKEM School teachers adopted the initiative and wanted the message to reach the audience in a simple and beautiful way. This was shown in the play performance under the title ‘Elsala Alzein – All that is good’. The play tells the tale of a city that knows no greed and its currency is wishing others ‘all that is good’. In the story, a tailor is unsatisfied with his life and prays every day for change. Then one day he is brought to a new place where people are happy in a harmonious community, where each citizen takes only what they need and wishes for the prosperity of others. But the tailor was blinded by greed and took more than he needed. He was then casted out and sent back to his old life.
The simple play explains SEKEM’s vision and initiative towards ethical banking and encourages the community’s individuals to implement this concept in their own lives. All the attendants were deeply inspired and admired the performance as well as the entire ceremony.
Nadine Greiss
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